The Siege of Firebase Gloria

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I found Firebase Gloria to be a highly educational film. Yes, it's a somewhat patriotic view of the Vietnam war and the Tet offensive, though it has some clear criticisms of the American involvement in the war. I'm actually shocked that so many people see this as "gung-ho American". There is extensive criticism of the US involvement in the war, portrayals of barbarism by American's, and examples of ineptitude on the part of the military. But, that's been done. What this film did for me was teach me a lot of details about warfare that I never knew: 1. The M16 rifle is a miraculous weapon. It never needs reloading. You never once see a clip changed in this film. You will see continuous automatic fire for long periods of time. Unfortunately, the AK-15 has this same beneficial characteristic. 2. If you have to fall back or move forward in a battle situation, the proper technique is to do so slowly while standing splay legged perpendicular to the line of fire and shooting. All of that silly running and crawling you see on other shows must be nonsense. Clearly, it is your duty to make yourself the best possible target when moving during battle. 3. When VC troops are shot with that miraculous M16, they fly straight up into the air with a dramatic spreading of the arms and legs. Now, I would have thought that the momentum might knock them back or that the bullet wouldn't really move them that much, but that's clearly my mistake. If it's your last moment on earth, you might as well over-act. 4. Battles have clear "phases" that everyone agrees too. You do the mortars for a while, and then you do the mad rush by thousands of Filipinos. Do not mix the two. The idea of a coordinated attack using multiple munitions must be against the rules or something. 5. It's okay to shoot your buddy in the head when they are wounded with plenty of witnesses around, provided they ask you to do so. Don't worry; the nice doctor won't turn you in for murder. Be sure you do so with a revolver, even though you're not likely to have one around in Vietnam. 6. There is actually an actor named "Wings Hauser". Next thing someone's going to tell me there's a military reporter at CNN named "Wolf Blitzer". Several people talk about how realistic this film is. I have no doubt that many elements do ring true. But, when I see a soldier in a defensive position stand up in a foxhole making as large a target as possible, I have to wonder what they were thinking.

source: The Siege of Firebase Gloria

Incessant combat scenes and hilarious characterizations put this one in the pantheon. The split psyche protagonist(s) approach ala Anthony Mann is used pretty well here as a "professional" soldier embodied by Ermey's Sgt. Major is played off of Wings Hauser's kill-at-all-costs DiNardo. After a few scenes with these two guys you realize they are the most bughouse psychos ever unleashed as leaders on an unsuspecting war-movie platoon. The scene where Ermey parades around with the heads of two GI's who were taken by surprise and murdered in the darkness at their post is the blackest comedy . Throw in a wiseass chopper pilot who feasts off of death dealing nihilism . This one is in a class of it's own. Antecedents: "Beau Geste". "Zulu". "Khartoum". Any Alamo movie.(Did I miss any?) See also "We Were Soldiers" for a lot of similar scenes.

It's the first time I have ever reviewed a film here on IMDb, or anywhere else, for that matter... I don't consider myself a critic, or expert or anything; just like cinema in general and war movies in particular. But this movie made me write here for the first time, out of indignation. I'm writing this as the end credits roll. I'll be concise: Bad acting, worse directing, pathetic soundtrack, clichéd, repetitive and utterly unrealistic. As other reviewer has said here before, this is probably the worst war film ever. I would go further and say is probably the worst FILM ever. Do yourself a favor and just watch any other film.

This movie is so good it's scary. I'm glad I didn't see it in a theater because I would have freaked out most of the audience! It was like being back there again! Lee Ermey is good but in this one, he is FANTASTIC; Wings Hauser also turns in a superb job as his close friend and is very believable, for a civilian (meaning non-military), and the clown who plays the chopper pilot is so REAL, I couldn't believe that he WASN'T a 'Nam pilot! I spent 16 months over there and was on many Firebases, and was overrun many times and this film over the ensuing years has caused me many flashbacks, but it's so great, I can't help re-watching it again and again - I just don't plan on getting much sleep that night. If you haven't seen it- Do so! It's the best Viet-Nam flick on the market-I think even better than Full metal Jacket, because it's serious to the end.

This is the worst war movie I have ever seen, possibly the worst ever made. I find it incredible that some people have actually rated it as a 10. It has a stunning lack of even rudimentary traces of realism. Almost every war movie cliche appears in this film and is done badly. On the other hand, I wouldn't have watched it to the end if it hadn't been so remarkably bad that it amused me.

OK how this movie gets a 7.2 out of 10 is beyond ridiculous! This film is without a doubt the worst i have ever seen! How can this get a higher rating then Platoon leader, Hamburger hill and even We Were Soldiers? I downloaded this movie through a Torrent site because i have seen every other Nam film, and could never find this at my local video store. All i can say is RUBBISH! Absolute utter, disgusting garbage! The acting is woeful! The narration makes my skin crawl, and the story line has less character build up then Rambo! The only good thing about this movie is the Rare tiger stripe pattern worn by Do nardo and The SGT MGR. That's IT!!!! The best Actor was the RTO! ( I guess having roles in Tour of Duty would have helped him a little).